‘I’m Hit! I’m Hit!’: Bodycam Videos Show Shootout That Wounded 2 Officers, Killed Suspect
Indianapolis, Indiana (IMPD) — On April 20, 2023, around 12:40 p.m. IMPD officers involved were conducting a firearms investigation with the Lawrence Police Department. They were conducting surveillance on a house in the 9100 block of East 36th Street. According to the Police, the target of the investigation was 46-year-old Daniel Ghebrehiwet. Officers claim when Ghebrehiwet left the house, he was spotted carrying a soft rifle case as he got into the driver’s seat of a black Toyota Sienna. A second person was seen getting into the passenger seat. Police said they followed the suspect south on N. Post Road and attempted a traffic stop in the area of 30th Street and N. Post Road. The suspect did not stop, which led to a pursuit, according to police. The suspect drove into a grassy area behind homes and was blocked by terrain, which caused him to stop.
Police said the suspect then began firing a rifle at the officers with an AR-style rifle. Security footage from the business, shows Ghebrehiwet driving past the parking lot and into a grassy area. He is soon followed by two fully-marked IMPD cars. Gunfire can be heard as officers step out of their cars. Investigators say Ghebrehiwet began open firing on the four officers with a rifle before the cars even stopped. Over 15 shots can be heard coming from where Ghebrehiwet’s car is parked. Footage shows Detective De Leon being wounded by gunfire to his leg. Body-worn camera footage from Detective De Leon begins before the pursuit was initiated. In the video, shot can be heard firing before De Leon exits his vehicle. Moments later, De Leon can be heard saying “I’m hit, I’m hit,” as he falls to the ground.
In body-worn camera footage from Detective Phelps, you can hear multiple gunshot being fired after De Leon was hit and and see a police car riddled with bullets. Phelps is heard yelling “Police! Drop the gun.” Phelps also states that he was also hit by gunfire. “I got hit in the stomach,” Phelps says. Phelps, Harris and Wallace move toward the suspect after gunfire ceases. Bodycam footage show officers slowly approaching Ghebrehiwet’s van, which has its back window shot out. A passenger they said was riding with Ghebrehiwet had fled on foot. The passenger was later apprehended and was arrested for an unrelated narcotics warrant out of Marion County for possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and a narcotic drug. Both Detectives De Leon and Phelps were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Phelps was released the same day and De Leon was released the next day.
